Lyndsey Smith is a field editor for RealAgriculture. A self-proclaimed agnerd, Lyndsey is passionate about all things farming but is especially thrilled by agronomy and livestock production.
Six years ago, Albert Wagner needed 100,000 bushels-worth of added storage. The traditional bin route would have cost him about $2.45/bu over 10 years (including a residual value for the bins), but he also had one of two fertilizer bins nearing the end of its useful life. That got him thinking about bagging grain, which… Read More
Premier-elect of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne, has officially announced she’ll take on the ag portfolio in addition to her duties as premier when she is sworn in on February 11, 2013. As a very busy, multi-tasking woman myself, my hat goes off to her. From Twitter: @Kathleen_Wynne “Committed to serve as Minister of Agriculture, Food &… Read More
It’s quite rare for farmers to be front and centre in mainstream media. Still more rare is to see a speech made in the late 70s start trending on Twitter during the Super Bowl, but that’s exactly what happened. While the game wound down and the 49’ers very nearly made a comeback, you’d think Twitter… Read More
It’s the last day of FarmTech — my very first one — and it’s been quite the week. The conference started with a big, bombastic Don Cherry look-a-like, featured popular presentations from Patrick Fabian, Stuart Barden, Drew Lerner and OMAFRA’s Peter Johnson, with the one and only Ron McLean speaking at Wednesday’s banquet, and will close… Read More
Earlier this week, I lined up an interview with Dr. Jeannie Gilbert, a plant pathologist at AAFC’s Cereal Research Centre, Winnipeg, Man. I wanted to speak with her about the threat of fusarium head blight for 2013 and what farmers can do now to prevent or manage the disease. When I arrived, I soon learned… Read More
It’s day 1,665 of winter (or so it feels), and we Prairie folk are finally emerging out from a solid week of high wind chills, blowing snow, awful driving conditions and more blowing snow. The lucky few booked their warm vacations for this week, but most of us are doing what we always do in… Read More
While you wouldn’t catch me in one of these gyrocopters — EVER — I sure am glad that Paul Golphy is willing to share his experience of flying one over the Canadian Prairie at harvest. The views are spectacular and a great reminder that the Prairies are anything but boring, especially with the busy combines… Read More
While I may get called out for jumping the gun here, but now that the holidays are over and the extreme weather of winter is upon us (super cold on the Prairies, balmy in Ontario), I can’t help but start asking about the planting season. Yes, really. A good farmer friend was over this weekend… Read More
I’m fresh off a very long, full day at both Pulse Days at Crop Week and the Crop Production Show at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon, and I thought I’d quickly jot down a few of my observations from the show: Farmers are feeling good about the year ahead, but strong crop prices complicate rotation decisions… Read More
If ever we needed a new curse word, let me humbly suggest kochia. If you thought it was tough to kill before, it’s quickly becoming even more difficult. As Clark Brenzil, provincial weed specialist with Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, explains, not only should kochia be taken off the label of every Group 2 herbicide, it’s… Read More
For those who didn’t tune in this weekend to an episode of CTV’s W5 on “factory farming”, let me sum it up for you: according to the episode hog farmers are heartless, sadist wretches that abuse and mistreat all their animals. While attacks and misinformation on and about farming practices aren’t rare, this particular program… Read More
Tuesday nights are pretty important on Twitter if you’re involved in agriculture. Tuesday nights are #AgChat nights — a few hours of moderated conversation on a particular topic of interest for farmers, industry and anyone else interested in agriculture. Last night’s topic was farm business management. Farmers and aspiring farmers alike weighed in on questions… Read More
Last week I wrote about the demise of Prop 37, a California bill that called for, among other things, labeling of genetically modified ingredients in food products. It didn’t take long after I posted the story for someone to send me a Tweet containing a link to an online petition. The introduction for the petition… Read More
Today, if you haven’t heard, is National Show Your 4-H Colours day — a day for current and former 4-H Canada members to wear green and white and show off their 4-H pride. As I donned my Roughriders shirt (2 birds, one-stone!) this morning, I got to thinking about my 4-H years and how they… Read More
Yesterday’s re-election of Barack Obama was the big news story, but tucked in amongst all the election fan fair and references to Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” was news of several bills being passed or defeated. Of particular note to agriculture was Prop 37, a Californian bill that would require labeling of products that… Read More
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